I took the wife antique shopping instead of working in the shop today. Found this pick/spoon. Looks really old. You can see the hammer marks from forming it. Theses are great for doors and in between wheel houses and quarters. It's really well hardened and tempered. I paid 7 bucks for it
My favorite is a old Bluepoint I have. Been using it for 20 or so yrs. I also have some Martins wich I like alot. All wood handles ,no fiberglass. They dont have the balance for me.
Which one? I mean the model,what numbers are stamped on the head? Just curious,i started to hunt Snap-on hammers after i had enought with the china crap i used to use.So far i have one too and it sure is more effective than the old crappy ones i have.
Snap on hammers for me-I have four-never encountered a Martin in Tasmania.A lot of shops seem to use Sykes Pickavant from the UK?
got about 20 snap on hammers. still trying to figure out why the hell i have so many. i keep buying them on ebay when i find them cheap
You can buy Snap-On handles on egay or use hardware store handles,but the most important part are the flat sides.These allow you to ''hinge'' the hammer between your thumb and middle finger. Look up FAYE BUTLER under getting started it talks about handle types and how to modify them.
Hey, I've made some up from scrap Maple and White Oak before. You can blank out several pretty quickly on a band or jig saw, rough in details with a grinder, and final details with a file to produce a perfect fit to your hand. A '' store bought '' handle usually requires alittle ''tune up '' with a file, or years of use, before it's ready for active duty " Meanwhyle, back aboard The Tainted Pork "
Mine just a standard slightly rounded face with a curved chisel. Pricey thou.Bluepoint is snap on by the way. Don't care for Mac or the others.
I think i know what you ment,i guess its bf608.That one is on my shopping list too. I just spend few hrs hammering dents out from the quarter panel with my snap-on hammer. It was worth of every penny.
My "new" hammer showed up today. To say it was packaged well is an understatement.. Proto 1426, which has the barrel end tip..
I have a few Protos, a Mac and a couple of cheapos. I bought 4 Proto body hammers for $20 back in the 80's at a Rose Bowl car swap meet. I recently freshened up all my body hammers with a Proto paint job...... I recently took this pic at a guys shop because I liked the hammer rack.......
anybody know why I cant see the two posts pics above? Just see blue boxes with ?? marks most of the other posts pics r fine is it my smart phone
Been doing body work for 40 some years now. My favorite hammer is still a Snap On with a large flat smooth head and a chisel head on other side. Got this the year I started and have never found a hammer with a better feel.
Hey Kev, I remember seein that '' Stream Line Tools " board in just about every paint/auto body supply store in the 70s & 80s ! the Streamline hammers , dollys & spoons didn't have the balance or finish of others like Snap Off, Proto or Mac, but they were sure affordable! In 1973, the hammers sold for like six bucks! Stream Line also private labled for Sears and Robuck a.k.a. Craftsman. " Meanwhyle, back aboard The Tainted Pork "
I had been looking for a blocking hammer and one appeared on ebay the other day, I won the auction and it showed up today. Here's one of the auction pictures, all of them were shown like this from the side... This was described as: I guess my perception of great condition is a bit different, as this is what the faces look like.... Nonetheless, I had planned on cleaning up the faces, just not quite that much... This was done with a 60 grit roloc and then changed to a 120.... ....then changed to a scotchbrite pad.... then used the DA and trizact pad Added a spare handle I had in the shop and tried it out.... Then touched up a bit on the wheel.. Here's the comparison between this hammer and one of the body hammers... Should come in handy..
I save my broken axle handles to whittle down for hammer handles. I also take a stroll through our terminal picking up loose boards from pallets, great source of hardwood and exotic wood.. I tell 'em I'm building an ark., and there's no response.. most is tossed into my wood stove in the garage..
That brings back memories. We had a Proto rack like that on the wall in auto body school. I went for 2 yrs. ,4 hrs. a day, then 1 yr.,8 hrs a day. Best time of my life.
I like my older Snap-on hammers--they feel pretty well-balanced, and I like the handles a lot better than round or oblong handles as mentioned by others. I also like the thickness of the face, compared to other hammers--other hammers seem to be real thick and clumsy-looking, while the SO hammers tend to be a little more "fine." There are specific faces and pick ends I like on the SO line as well. However, Porter Ferguson and Martin also have excellent hammers, and I've got one or two of those, too. But the first one I bought was a Snap-on, and I've mostly stuck with those. -Brad
I have a new (unworn) proto models hammers, 1423, 1424, 1425, 1426 and 1428 1425S. If anyone is interested in them, let me know. I live in Venezuela, but would look for a way to ship them by DHL
My little brother recently bought this set http://www.daggertools.com/m5/CP07-K--panelbeater-hammer-dolly-kit.html and they are actually really nice. Have a good feel in your hand, and were not expensive at all.
Some CL shopping today, picked up two hammers, a Porter Ferguson BH-9, Fairmount 152-G, and fender bead pliers, a Herbrand BF-81 ..
My favorites are a couple Proto's I bought new more than fifty years ago. I recently got a Martins slapping hammer that is useful. Most all my other body hammers are not used.
My body hammers and dollies are all embarrassingly cheap imported stuff from Harbor Freight & my hands-on metal finishing experience is quite limited. One thing I picked up & tried in a pro body shop was the bullseye pick, and it looks like one might come in handy for the fenders on my car. I lots for sale for $75 and lots more expensive ones as well. The one I actually tried out appeared to be home made & I was just going to make myself one, since it appears you can buy the tips. But then I thought I might just grind my own picking and bumping tips from an old valve stem or something hard. I wouldn't think the tips absolutely need to have threads. Any advice or suggestion would be appreciated.
Throughout the years, all my favorite hammers have been "liberated" by my illustrious employees" and I have ended up using a dry wall hammer as my favorite tool. (They are too embarrassed to steal that one) I polished the crown and ground the blade smooth with a nice curve to it. It has great balance and I can pick with the end of the blade or remove dents from SS moldings like a pro. "Its not the tool, it is how you use it"
I love collecting hammers, even it I knew in my head I'd never use it, I'd still pick one up...I can be at a swap meet or yard sale and I'll always see hammers first before anything else...I gravitate toward them...Something about steel and wood in perfect harmony used to creat something else. Very man.
I bought a bunch of body hammers at an auction. There were two ball pein hammers that had been modified. The ball end had been ground down and part of a push rod brazed on to make a pick hammer.
The Jalopy Journal
